Playing With Fire (Glasgow Lads Book 3) (39 page)

“How?”

“Think about it—charities and scholars and politicians are always talking
at
Glaswegians, saying, ‘Don’t drink, don’t smoke, don’t fight, don’t eat crap food,’ but people never learn by being lectured.” Robert handed Liam his shirt. “People learn by playing.”

“Ohhh.” Liam was starting to understand. “So the game would teach us all how to be less shite.”

“Yes! Och, that’s a brilliant tagline.” Robert pulled out his own phone and began thumbing in a note. “‘Be Less Shite.’”

“Could be the new city slogan. I think Glaswegians’d really respond to the message. It sets a low bar, you know?”

Robert laughed. “Can you imagine neds on street corners playing this game, competing to see who can make the best life for himself?”

“Only if the game’s got knife fights.” Liam pulled the shirt over his head, his skin singing with relief at being covered again. “So where’ll you get the money to pay yourself to make this game?”

“Ah, see, there’s a plan for that in the works. I can show you the numbers—”

“Not tonight.”

“—but between government grants, crowdfunding, and maybe even help from universities, I can do this. It’ll be a wee bit bootstrappy at first, but I’ve got Dani on board to help, and also one of our professors, who has a mate on City Council who’s a gamer herself. The wheels are in motion.” Robert moved closer and straightened the collar of Liam’s shirt. “See, it’s not some pie-in-the-sky dream. I’m making it a reality.” He tugged Liam closer. “That’s why I didn’t tell you straightaway when I got the idea. I made that mistake once, offering to bring you to California without knowing if it was possible. I didn’t want to build your hopes up again.”

“It takes a lot to build up my hopes. It takes a lot to
find
my hopes, seeing as I keep them buried at the bottom of the laundry basket. Or the recycling bin, I cannae remember.” He removed Robert’s devil horns and kissed him softly. “But you always seem to dig them up.”

“F
UNNY
HOW
F
ERGUS
and Brodie turned out to be the best strippers,” Robert said.

“It’s always the quiet ones.” Liam wanted to take Robert’s hand as they walked down Sauchiehall Street through the softly falling snow. This close to Glasgow Uni, no one would probably care about two men holding hands. But the temperature was well below freezing—and dropping fast—so they had to hurry to avoid frostbite.

Now that the stag party was over, Liam had time to contemplate Robert’s Glasgow Effect game idea. As much as he hated to bring his boyfriend down to earth, Liam knew he’d be a terrible mate if he didn’t offer a wee reality check.

“Are you sure you want to turn down a job to do this game? Seems a big sacrifice.”

“First of all, I’ve not been offered a job yet. Dev and Amanda said they’d decide after Christmas who makes it to the next round of interviews.” As they rounded the corner to his home street, Robert brushed his hand through the snow atop the stone wall beside the pavement. “And second, it’s nae sacrifice, because if this works, I’d get massive stature in the industry, which could lead to funding to make more profitable games and apps. By doing the right thing, I could end up richer than ever.”

“Or you could end up with nothing. It’s so risky.”

“As risky as tying myself to a company that could fail or change course and leave me unemployed? Besides, these days people earn respect and money by having their own vision, not by following someone else’s.”

It finally dawned on Liam what Robert was proposing. “You’re starting a business.”

“Aye, that’s what I’ve been trying to tell you.” Robert stopped in front of his block of flats. “Will you support me in this or will you tell me I’m mad?”

“Yes.” Liam smirked to show he was half kidding. “Okay, I’ll be serious for a second, cos I know how much it turns you on.” He looked Robert in the eye. “You’re a fucking genius, Rab, and now you’re putting that genius into something useful.”

Robert frowned. “All games are useful. They help our cognitive—”

“You know what I mean. You’re gonnae build something that helps
everyone
, not just gamers. If this city—if this world—had more people like you, it’d be…”

“Less shite?”

Liam took Robert’s face in his hands and kissed him. “Way less shite.”

As they climbed the stairs, Liam couldn’t help remembering the last time he was here, how he’d said he wasn’t ready to be boyfriends—lovers, whatever. How he’d pushed Robert away. At the time, he’d wondered if his honesty had been a mistake, but now it was clear that for their paths to truly join, they’d needed to take the scenic route, as it were.

“I’ve got an idea,” Robert said as they entered his flat. “Close your eyes.”

Liam obeyed, hearing Robert shut and lock the door behind them. “Not another entrepreneurial idea, I hope. I cannae keep my eyes closed long enough for you to secure venture capital. Did I say that right?”

“Just stay there.”

Liam heard him open one of the kitchen cupboards, then run the tap. After the water shut off, Robert’s footsteps traveled toward the bed. “Five more seconds.” Robert hurried toward the window, then back to the bed again. “Okay, look.”

Liam opened his eyes to discover Robert had switched off the ceiling light, leaving only the faint glow from the light above the kitchen sink…

…and the flash of the rubber duckies.

The toys Liam had given Robert bobbed in a bowl of water on the bedside table, their LEDs blinking continuously, cycling through every color.

“I’ve no candles, see.” Robert sat gingerly on the edge of the bed. “Also, I’m not sure I trust myself with open flames just now.”

Liam crossed the room, his feet slowed by the honey-thick feeling of awe flooding his veins.

“Do you want some music?” Robert asked. “To match the rave lights?” He gestured to the ducks.

“Only if you do.”

“No.” He swallowed hard as Liam approached and sat beside him. “Oh, there’s drinks in the fridge if you want.”

“Nope.” Liam reached out and tapped the bill of the yellow duck. “This is much more romantic than candles.” He put a hand on Robert’s knee and felt it tremble under his touch. “Are you nervous?”

Robert thought for a moment. “I guess so.”

“We don’t have to have sex tonight. Or do anything. We really have got time now.” At least they
probably
did. Liam knew that nothing in this world was certain, but he was finally willing to gamble on hope.

Robert pulled his leg up between them to face Liam. “You honestly would have married me?”

Liam felt a twinge of unease. “Yeah, but…I don’t have to, right? You’re not scuttling all your big plans now that you know you could’ve had me
and
California?”

“No. No way. Just wondering what changed your mind.”

“It wasn’t any one thing.” Liam turned his head to watch the ducks, mesmerized by their strobing colors. “I went to the registrar’s with Fergus and John on Tuesday, when they filed their intention to marry.”

“And they convinced you?”

“Not exactly. I met your mate Ben. He said a few things about you that seemed promising. And I realized I didn’t want to live without you.”

Robert slid his hand over Liam’s, saying nothing.

Liam forced himself to confess the most embarrassing bit. “So it turned out my fear of losing you was greater than my fear of marriage, or my fear of being looked down upon in California.”

“No one would look down—”

“Let me finish,” Liam said. “But all of that wasn’t enough. I knew it’d be daft to jump into such a thing just because I was scared. Though terror is a brilliant motivator.”

“So what was it, then?” Robert asked softly.

Liam blinked, his view of the ducks blurring for a moment. “It was a really long queue, so I had time to stand there and watch the other couples. Most of them looked at least forty. Some were gorgeous, some not so much. Some were giddy, some dead serious. But they all seemed to have one thing in common.” He finally turned back to Robert. “They were very obviously friends.”

Robert’s eyes grew suddenly wet. “Yeah.” He cleared his throat. “I can imagine.”

“So I knew that no matter what, even if we went to California and decided we’d made a huge mistake and suddenly couldn’t stomach the sight of each other naked, or if we just wanted different things…” Liam ran his teeth over his upper lip. “It wouldn’t be the end of the world. Cos we’d always be mates.”

Robert lowered his head and nodded several times. Liam sensed he was holding back tears, trying to stay manly. He knew he should make a joke to dispel the emotion, but he wasn’t finished.

“See,” Liam continued, “if you’ve not outgrown me after three and a half years of uni, you never will. We’re just a fact of life. Like gravity or…something else similar to gravity.”

Robert let out a guffaw, then sniffled. “I need a drink of water. Want one?”

“Nah, you’re good.” Liam watched him go to the kitchen, where he pulled a glass from the dish dryer and filled it at the tap.

After a long sip, Robert said, “This whole situation is kinda funny. A bit like ‘The Gift of the Magi.’”

“The what, now?”

“It’s a story about a young couple who are too skint to afford Christmas gifts for each other.” He drained the glass, then returned to sit on the bed beside Liam. “So the husband pawns his gold watch to buy his wife a comb for her long, beautiful hair, only to find out she’d sold her long, beautiful hair to buy him a chain for his gold watch.”

Liam stared at him. “That’s a shite story.”

“No, it’s not.”

“It is. They both end up with useless crap, and no way the pawn shop’s open on Christmas Day.”

“That’s not the point,” Robert said.

“It doesn’t apply to us, anyway, cos you and I actually got something out of this—this exchange.”

“So did they. They learned they were loved enough to be sacrificed for, which is arguably more valuable than a stupid watch or a bunch of hair.”

Liam reached out and tugged on Robert’s hair. “I’m glad you’ll be out of uni soon. It’s warped your brain.”

“Shut up.” Robert kissed him, but tentatively. It was a kiss that seemed a question. Then he did it again, and this time the kiss was an answer.

Liam lifted his hand and slid it between the buttons of Robert’s shirt, seeking the warmth of his chest. Robert moved forward, sliding past him on the bed, then pulled Liam down on top of him.

Liam explored Robert’s mouth as Robert’s hands caressed his back and shoulders. Then those hands descended to cup Liam’s arse, drawing him tight against his warm, straining body. The feel of Robert’s hardness made Liam’s own cock swell and stiffen.

They undressed in silence, fingers trembling on buttons, buckles, and zippers. As his last bit of clothes hit the floor, Liam said a silent thank-you that Robert’s flat was well-heated.

He paused for a moment at the foot of the bed, taking in the sight of his naked boyfriend, as the rubber ducks’ lights flashed every color over Robert’s smooth chest and abs. Then he crawled between Robert’s outspread legs, running his hands up those muscular thighs and over the ridges of his hips. Bending over, he wet his lips and slowly drew Robert’s cock between them.

Robert squirmed as he swelled and stiffened, stretching Liam’s mouth. Liam grasped Robert’s hips, savoring the flex of muscles against his palms. He tried to focus on this moment and not on what they were about to do. His heart was pounding as it was.

When Robert’s pleas grew impossible to ignore, Liam retrieved the pump dispenser of lube from the bedside table. He coated his middle two fingers, which he then slid from the base of Robert’s balls all the way to his hole.

“Yes,” Robert whispered. “Please.”

Liam swirled his fingertip around, then over Robert’s opening, his own cock jerking when he felt that tight, warm bud pucker, then relax. At the barest touch, it opened up and drew him in. “Oh, you
have
been practicing on your own.”

Robert gave a laughing sigh. “It’s miles better with you.”

“I hope so.” He lowered his head to taste Robert’s cock again. It seized and jerked between his lips, but he held it firmly, tonguing the ridge beneath the head. Robert groaned and grasped the other pillow, his arm muscles bulging. Liam relished the feel of him inside, barely believing they were soon to join there.

He pulled his finger out, then teased Robert’s hole with rapid flicks.

“Och,” Robert gasped. “Please. Put it in me. Please.”

Liam did as commanded, sliding his finger back inside, feeling Robert open further this time. When Liam curled his finger over the hump of his prostate, Robert’s moans seemed loud enough to wake all Glasgow.

Feeling merciless, Liam shifted his mouth down to Robert’s balls and drew one between his lips.

“Fuck!” Robert pounded the mattress. “Stop, or you’ll make me come any second.”

“We don’t want that yet, do we?” Liam sat up, keeping his hand where it was. “Do you want to come with me inside you?”

“God, yes.” Robert gazed up at him. “I want you to fuck the cum out of me.”

Liam’s prick snapped to full attention, and he felt the world tilt for a moment. “Gonnae be patient, okay?” He added another slick, careful finger. “I need you soft inside.”

“Mmph.” Robert writhed on the sheets, biting his lip and whimpering with pleasure. Liam had never seen anything so beautiful.

When he finally sensed Robert was ready, Liam took out a condom and rolled it on, admiring the way the ducklings’ colored lights danced upon the pale latex sheath.

Then he turned back to Robert. “It’ll be easier for your first time if we lie on our sides. Like spooning, but with sex.”

Robert shook his head. “I want to see you.”

“You can see me if we spoon, ya daftie.” Liam coated his cock with a deluge of lube. “Just turn your head.”

“You know what I mean. I want to do it the same as before.” He lifted his knees, pulling his thighs wide apart. “The same as our first time.”

Liam nearly came at the sight of Robert splayed out like that. “We’ll compromise. I’ll be like this.” He got into position on his knees between Robert’s legs, glad that this mattress was more firm and stable than his own. “And you lie on your left side.”